Open-back shoe with stiffening means



D W 1943: V -'r. A. COCHARY 2,446,169

1 OPEN BACK SHOE WITH S'I'IFFENING HEARS nu'd uar' n 2&[1947 I v l 2 sheets-sheet 1 IN V EN TOR.

Patented Aug. 3; 1948 OFF/ICE OPEN-BACK SHOE WITH STIFFENING MEANS Thomas Arthur Cochary, Brockton, Mass.

Application March 28, 1947, Serial No. 137,817

SlilaimmJOl. 3.6-8.5)

This invention consists in a new and improved shoe of the open back type and in a novel method of making the same.

Open back shoes now in demand for womens wear have had the serious objection that they retain for a relatively short time the fine lines imparted to them by the last in the manufacturing process. This is largely due to the fact that shoes of this type have no counterstiifener. In women's shoes of more conventional type the whole rear portion of the upper is shaped and sustained by a counterstiffener that is molded accurately to the shape of the last and may be relied upon to maintain its molded shape for substantially the whole life of the shoe. On the other hand, open back shoes are cut away and present an aperture above the heel seat which is substantially the shape of the usual counter stiffener. Accordingly, there is nothing whatever in this location to assist the upper in maintaining its shape in wear,

The object of the present invention is to provide a shoe of the open back type having a stifl'ening and reinforcing member included in the structure of the upper throughout its shank portion. I have discovered that such a member supplies the want of a counterstiifener and tendseffectively to bring .Ollt and maintain in the shoe thefine lines of the desired contour. In those cases where the stiffener is located in the inside shank portion of the upper,

, the stiffener has the additionalfunction of an The open back shoe of my invention may beproduced by inserting asolvent-softening blank having a curved rear edge between the plies of a lined upper having a curved rear edge. defining the aperture of the open back, registering the curved edges of the said blank and upper and fastening the blank in place in the shank portion thereof,

then softening the blank by liquid solvent applied through the lining, shaping an upper to the last, and finally causing the blank to stiffen in conformity tothe shape thereof.

These and other features and advantages of the invention will be best understood and appreciated from the 'following description of a preferred manner of producing open back shoes in accordance with my invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a view in perspective'ofthe finished shoe,

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the stiffening blank,

Fig. 3 is a similar view of the outer ply or inthe lining in ening blank inserted between the outer and lining l piles of the upper in the inside shank portion of the shoe, the stiffening blank extending from the edge of the open back aperture to the ball. line of the shoe, and from the edge of the sole to the top edge of the upper. It would be within the scope of the invention to provide a similar stiffener in the outside shank portion-of the upper, or in both sides of the upper if desired.

The stiflener blank iii, as shown in Fig. 2, has converging front and rear edges. The two front edges are curved andmeet at a point IS. The rear edge I4 is of concave curvature and intersects a short straight rear edge at the point ii. The stiffener may be of any desired thermoplastic or solvent-softening material commonly employed for counterstifleners and comprising a textile fabric saturated or coated with a cellulose ester capable of being gelatinized by a suitable solvent as to, permit the stiffener blank to acquire a plastic or moldable state requisite for incorporation into and" shaping with the upper during the lasting operation. Cellulose acetate, or cellulose acetate and nitrocellulose are suitable impregnants and these may be readily softened by such solvent mixtures as acetone, diacetonealcohol, glycol mcnoacetate, ethylene oxide and the like, all of these being readily available in the shoemaking industry.

The upper blank ii may he died out from leather or fabric and is shown in Fig. 3 with its unfinished surface uppermost. It will be noted that the left hand edge of the upper, as shown in Fig. 3, corresponds in outline to the left hand edge of the stiffener blank Ill. The stiffener is now placed in position upon the upper and cemented thereto. A textile lining blank I! is next prepared and cemented to the upper II and the stiffener blank ID, as indicated in Fig. 4.

The lined upper with its interposed stiffener is now recut as indicated in Fig. 5, the throat being formed in this operation,

The recut upper is now provided with a French cord binding l6 about the toe portion. and a French cord binding I! about the throat portion. In this operation the upper edge of the stiffener blank I] is caught by the binding along the throat opening. The French cord binding is now pressed and a line of spaced stitching ll carried around the edges of the upper which are to be exposed in the finished shoe. At this time a strap i9 is secured to the inner side of the upper, and a buckle It to its outer rear end. The line of stitching II by which the .strap is secured also catches the rear straight edge of the stiffener blank. I

The upper is now ready to be assembled with thereof, I claim as new and desire to secure by the insole and lasted in the regular manner.

Preparatory to this step, however, the stiffener blank to is softened by solvent applied through the lining II. The upper is now lasted with the stiffener blank in soft, limp condition, and the composite structure of the upper is shaped accuratelyito the contour of the last. After the lasting operation the solvent rapidly evaporates from the stiffener and the latter hardens into the molded shape of the last which has been imparted to it, thereby providing a stiff, resilient, shapemaintaining element in the upper.

For best results it is important to locate the stiil'ener as shown in the accompanying drawings, that is to say, it must extend fully from the rear edge of the upper at the open heel to, but not in advance of the ball line. It will he, therefore, entirely coextensive with the inside shank portion of the upper from the sole line to the top of the upper. The stifleher thus gives body tosupport the upper about the aperture of the open backand keeps the inside shank portion of the shoe smooth and free of wrinkles.

While improving the appearance and wearing qualities of the shoe, it will be noted that the process of my invention interferes at no point with the regular shoemaking methods now practised in the manufacture of women's shoes.

Having thus disclosed my invention and described in detail an illustrative embodiment Letters Patent:

1. An open back shoe including in its structure a lined upper having a French cord binding about its top edge, and a stifl'ening member cemented to both upper and lining and secured by spaced row stitching along its top and rear edges, said member extending vertically from the sole to the top edge and longitudinally from the edge of the open back throughout the inside shank portion of the upper and to but not in advance of the ball line, the'said stiffening member being molded to the contour of the last and resiliently maintaining the upper in smooth condition without wrinkles in wear. 2. The process of making open back shoes which comprises the steps oi providing a stiffening blank of solvent-softening material having forwardly and rearwardly converging edges, cementing the blank in flat condition to the inner face of a lined upper with the rear converging edges of the blank substantially overlying the edge of the upper at the open back thereof, cementing the lining to thestiifening blank, top stitching the upper and lining, softening the stiffening blank by liquid solvent applied through the lining. and then lasting and finishing the shoe.

3. The process of making open back shoes which comprises the steps of inserting a solvent-softening blank having a curved rear edge between the piles of a lined upper having a curved rear edge defining the aperture of an open back upper, registering the. curved edges of the said blank and upper and fastening the blank in place in the inside shank portion of the upper, softening the blank by liquid solvent applied through the lining, shaping the upper to a last, and causing the blank to stiffen in conformity to the shape thereof.

THOMAS ARTHUR COCHARY. 

